Indianapolis -- It hasn't even been two years since the New Orleans Saints ended a contract dispute with quarterback Drew Brees that dragged into midsummer 2012.

But here they are again.

For as long as the Brees' contract situation took to resolve, the Saints might be in for an even longer battle with tight end Jimmy Graham.

Graham's rookie contract will expire March 11, if a long-term deal isn't reached by that time. But reaching an accord seems highly unlikely at this point, particularly considering the Saints already made several offers to Graham's camp that weren't accepted.

The two sides reportedly are millions of dollars apart on a deal. While the Saints are willing to make him the highest paid tight end in NFL history, Graham wants at least $12 million a year, which is treading into wide receiver territory for annual compensation.

Graham, who was one of the lowest paid starting tight ends in the league in 2013, earned around $1.3 million in the final year of his contract. He will likely never see free agency, as the Saints are expected to place the franchise tag on Graham between now and Monday's deadline.

That's when the real fight begins.

Graham's agent, Jimmy Sexton, is expected to file a grievance at that time through the NFL Players Association, contending Graham should be paid as a wide receiver, not as a tight end. His contention will be that Graham lined up more in a role befitting a receiver, rather than at the end of the line in a three-point stance as would a traditional tight end.

Graham will be at the center of a groundbreaking procedure for the NFL, where an arbitrator likely will have to decide how he should be paid. The difference in salary for the franchise tag is sizable, particularly if the 2014 salary cap rises to $132 million as reported. The franchise tag averages the top five annual salaries for a position; for tight ends, it's $6.8 million, while receivers are pegged at $11.8 million.

It could also set a precedent for other players to seek out an arbitrator to decide what position at which they should be tagged. That's something Baltimore Ravens defender Terrell Suggs threatened in 2008 when he wanted to be designated as a higher-paid defensive end and not a linebacker.

Suggs' camp eventually came to an agreement with the Ravens and he was paid an amount that split the difference between the two positions. That increased his one-year franchise tender from $8.065 million to about $8.5 million, and he dropped his grievance.

That could be a possible ending to the Graham saga too, if the two sides decide to split the difference between tight end and wide receiver money. That would pay Graham upwards of $9 million next season.

"We had a similar situation when I was in Baltimore," said Indianapolis Colts coach Chuck Pagano. "We had a huge discussion on, 'What do you consider this guy, an outside linebacker, or is he a defensive end?' At the time, defensive ends were getting paid a little bit more than outside linebackers. There was a lot of work that went into that discussion.

"I think it's the nature of the beast. It's where we're at today in the NFL. Certainly it wasn't the first time that's happened. It won't be the last."

Bracing for a fight

The Saints were forced to go before an arbitrator during the Brees' contract talks and lost the fight. When the Saints placed the franchise tag on Brees in 2012, they were contending that it was his first time being tagged.

But Brees also was tagged by his previous team, the San Diego Chargers, and said it was his second franchise tag.

Arbitrator Stephen Burbank ruled in favor of Brees, but the issue was dropped when Brees' representatives and the Saints agreed to a five-year, $100 million contract that summer.

The Saints are likely bracing for a fight again. And with so much unknown at this point, there's no real guarantee for either side.

"If I were the Saints, I would be very leery because you never know what an arbitrator will find persuasive," said Joel Corry, a former agent who writes about salary cap issues for CBSSports.com. "I thought they had a good chance with the Brees situation, and they lost that one."

Corry also said it's possible the arbitrator could rule the Saints botched their shot at the franchise tag by designating Graham the wrong position and therefore missing the deadline, which would make Graham a free agent -- resulting in the worst-case scenario for the organization.

However, that seems unlikely, according to the NFL Network, which reported teams don't initially have to specify what position at which the player is tagged. Instead, he'll simply be designated as a "franchise player."

Does the formation dictate a player's role?

The Saints could argue that where Graham lined up wasn't necessarily an indicator of what he did on a given play: If Graham initially lined up at tight end but went in motion out wide, was that the role of a receiver? Graham's camp could counter that he ran a route and was in the slot, the normal duties for a wideout.

The position will be up to the arbitrator to decide.

And Corry doesn't see many ways the dispute doesn't end up before a neutral party.

As the two sides work toward a long-term deal, the franchise tag situation is just the beginning of a bigger issue. If Graham wants top-five wide receiver money, he won't be getting it without a fight.

"He's not getting Mike Wallace money (five years, $60 million) without filing that grievance," said Corry, citing the receiver and New Orleans native who signed as a free agent with the Miami Dolphins last offseason.

Graham is expected to seek a deal that makes him at least the highest paid tight end in NFL history. New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski signed a record six-year, $53 million extension that included $16.5 million in guaranteed money in 2012.

But if Graham wins the franchise tag fight, he'll be seeking a long-term deal that will pay him a salary similar to that of Wallace, Calvin Johnson of Detroit, Arizona's Larry Fitzgerald, Dwayne Bowe of Kansas City and Tampa Bay's Vincent Jackson. Johnson, the NFL's highest paid receiver, earns an average salary of about $16.5 million.

Evolution of the position

Graham is cited by many as the perfect example of a modern day tight end, one asked not only to be an in-line blocker, but also line up in the slot and split out as a receiver.

The position has received more attention than ever with stars such as the 49ers' Vernon Davis, recently retired Tony Gonzalez of Atlanta and Graham breaking out from the crowded pack of receivers that once dominated the headlines.

Today, tight ends are arguably being asked to do more than they ever have and the new generation of players coming into the league are reflections of that.

"The tight end has always been a guy that's going to block and be that extra tackle, offensive linemen, but a guy who can catch the ball in the red zone, in the open field," said University of Washington tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins, an NFL prospect. "Now you see more with how the NFL has changed that guys are split out, they are in the slot, so the value has changed because the tight end is being asked to do more."

In 2013, three of the top five leaders in receiving touchdowns in the NFL were tight ends: Graham (16 touchdowns), Davis (13) and Broncos tight end Julius Thomas (12). Rounding out the top 20 were Cowboys tight end Jason Witten and Gonzalez with eight apiece.

A year ago former Titans tight end Jared Cook also fought to be tagged as a receiver. But instead of getting into a drawn-out battle, Tennessee let Cook walk as a free agent. He signed a five-year, $35 million deal with the St. Louis Rams shortly after hitting the open market.

Then there's Baltimore Ravens tight end Dennis Pitta, who was injured most of the 2013 season but caught seven touchdown passes in 2012. Pitta was rumored to be considering filing a grievance himself, but signed a five-year, $32 million dollar deal on Feb. 28.

"Our game in the NFL has changed just like the college game," said Ravens general manager Newsome, a Hall of Fame tight end . "They're not asked to block as much as it was maybe when I was coming along in the early '90s."

Graham's supporters will argue he deserves a huge contract after putting up 3,863 receiving yards and catching 41 touchdowns in his first four seasons. He has earned two Pro Bowl berths, and was first-team All Pro in 2013.

He has led the Saints in receiving yards and touchdowns in two of the past three seasons. If he keeps up his current pace, it's conceivable Graham could be No. 2 in franchise history in receiving touchdowns and No. 4 in receiving yards before the end of his fifth season in New Orleans.

But Graham's detractors will point out his disappearance in some of the biggest games this season.

In the divisional round of the playoffs at the Seattle Seahawks, Graham was targeted six times but caught only one pass with 24 seconds left.

Earlier in the season against the New England Patriots, he was targeted six times and came up empty against cornerback Aqib Talib. Graham exited that game injured, and was later found to have a torn plantar fascia. He played the rest of season with the lingering foot injury, and additionally played with an elbow injury that required him to wear a protective sleeve.

'Meet him halfway'

Graham, 27, is still relatively inexperienced in football years compared to some of the other tight ends in the league. Graham played a season of high school football and only one year at the University of Miami after exhausting his eligibility on the basketball team. The Saints eventually selected him in the third round, 95th overall, of the 2010 NFL draft.

At the 2013 Pro Bowl, Graham admitted to Gonzalez, considered by many to be the best tight end of all time, that he still had some learning to do to become a more complete player.

Graham's blocking has often been called into question, and for that reason, Gonzalez said, he's really more of a wide receiver.

"The way they use him in that offense, with that scheme, he's a wide receiver. And he even knows it, he's acknowledging that now. He doesn't really block," Gonzalez said on the "Doug Gottlieb Show." "He probably has his hand in the dirt maybe five or six times per game and the rest of the time they have him split out and used as a weapon in the passing game.

"If you're going to franchise him, you have to franchise him as a receiver."

For comparison, Gonzalez said he was used as an in-line blocker whenever the Falcons ran running plays and was part of the overall blocking scheme. That's not Graham's role right now, he said.

"At the Pro Bowl this year we talked about it. I said 'Well, are you going to get your hand in the dirt? Are you going to start blocking and being the complete package?' It's a dual position," Gonzalez said. "And he was like, yeah, he wants to, but he had a couple injuries, or hurt his elbow.

"Obviously he's more effective in the passing game for that offense and they had another tight end come in to handle the blocking responsibilities. But he said he wants to be more of a complete tight end, so I'm going to hold him to it. Until then, I'm going to say, you've got to call him an H-back or a wide receiver."

Gonzalez said the Saints need to forget about franchising Graham and just pay him what he's worth.

"Obviously he's not going to get Megatron (Johnson) money, which is 15, 16 million dollars like those big-time receivers, Fitzgerald and a couple of other guys," he said "But I think in the double-digit millions is probably what he should be paid at this point. ...

"For what he brings to that offense, it's a huge mismatch no matter where he is on the field. And the numbers he's putting up? Shoot, they're almost comparable to Megatron and those other guys. So at the very least you've got to meet him halfway. And hopefully they can get this done. I know they want to."

Setting a precedent?

Graham started last season with all the leverage after putting up 593 receiving yards and six touchdowns through the first five games. However, his production declined. After his quick start, he had 622 yards in the final 11 games, which dropped his average from 118.6 yards receiving per game to 56.5 yards.

Nonetheless, it's not Graham's production that's led to the dispute about what his true title should be. It's reflected in language in the 2011 collective bargaining agreement (CBA), which states a player's salary should be based on the position "at which he participated in the most plays during the prior League Year."

The previous CBA, which was initially ratified in 1993, defined the exclusive franchise tag as the position "at which he played the most games during the prior League Year."

According to ESPN, Graham lined up in the slot or out wide for 67 percent of his snaps last season. While the NFLPA will likely argue it's a cut-and-dry issue due to the new CBA, the Saints will likely counter the position has evolved enough that the vague wording shouldn't apply.

"That'll be the Saints' argument, that this is a natural evolution," Corry said, "that this isn't like the days when Mike Ditka played and a tight end shouldn't be constrained to lining up right next to the tackle."

The Saints declined to comment specifically on negotiations with Graham's camp, but general manager Mickey Loomis has made his position clear.

"This business about what position he is? I think he's a tight end," Loomis said at the Senior Bowl in late January. "That's where we drafted him. That's where we play him.

"In our view he's a tight end. That's what makes him valuable."

Loomis, who has a vested interest in the situation, had understandably less to say than some other coaches and GMs who were asked their thoughts on the evolution of the position.

"Tight end is definitely a position that has been evolving," said Atlanta Falcons coach Mike Smith. "You can say that some tight ends think they are wide receivers for a number of reasons. I think that position has become a hybrid position, between a wide receiver and a tight end. The true Y tight end, you don't see as many of them. ...

"It's changing. Offensive coordinators are being very creative in how they align the tight end. He can line up in that fullback position. He can line up as an H-back. He can line up in the No. 1 wide receiver position as well."

When asked specifically about Graham, Smith said: "This is a very competitive league and as a player you should try to get paid as much money as you possibly can."

Brees, when was asked his opinion, said he considered Graham a tight end.

Perhaps realizing his comments could hurt his teammate in negotiations, Brees literally jumped on a table on the "Dan Patrick Show" during Super Bowl week to profess his support for Graham.

"Whether Brees thinks Graham is a tight end will ultimately be irrelevant (to the arbitrator)," Corry said. "This is uncharted territory."

If Graham wins his fight, not only will it give him most of the leverage in contract talks, but it will also set a precedent for all NFL players.

"It would change the way the tight end franchise tag works," Corry said.

But for all the talk and speculation, the player at the center of it all has kept relatively quiet. Graham never publicly complained about his salary last season and had little to say when asked about the matter in early February.

"That's not for me to decide," Graham said at an adidas charity event with New Orleans Pelicans guard Eric Gordon in the French Quarter. "I'm going to do, and I'm going to play, whatever I'm asked to do.